Evening star. [volume], September 30, 1947, Page A-11, Image 11

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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President's Approach
To European Relief
Problem Praised
Knows Congress Won't
Be Stampeded in Action
On 20-Billion Program
By David Lawrenct
Any Impression that President
Truman was going to respond to
■one of the somewhat hysterical
demands for an extra session of
Congress has been promptly dis
pelled by the calmness with which
the Chief Executive is approaching
the whole matter of European
relief.
Mr. Truman has been well aware
that Congress cannot be stampeded
Into action and that anything so
enormous as a $20,000,000,000 pro
grarrfc will have to be handled with
far more scrutiny and care than
were some of the billions in “lend
lease" days.
The President knows that, if he
called Congress Instantly, it would
have little to do at once and that
AAiMiMlSSAAa a# tKa A wta VsAxaAa ktaiiM
have to begin exhaustive studies of
the entire program anyway before
any legislation could be passed. Mr.
Truman realises, moreover, that if
bipartisan support Is to be assured
It Is necessary to prepare the
groundwork carefully. An extra
session by December Is the earliest
date now considered probable.
The greatest disservice to the
eause of co-operation between the
parties, however, has been done by
thoee who have been demanding a
special session Immediately to vote
billions of dollars Just because Euro
pean governments have said they
were facing a crisis.
Some Political Aspects.
There are some political aspects,
too, connected with the whole mat
ter which are going to require much
tact and discretion lest the Marshall
plan be wrecked before It can be
presented. This relates to the ef
forts of the "left wingers” to start
a controversy over whether the
OPA should or should not have been
retained and whether rationing and
other controls should be restored
now. The "left wing” groups have
Introduced politics Into the situation
and some of the Democratic Na
tional Committee spokesmen have
sought to make an issue over the
present price situation by blaming
the Republicans for their part In re
moving price controls.
This In turn is related to the high
prices of food. The American
people have never been told officially
Just how the Government agencies
here have been bidding up agri
cultural prices ana now mucn nignu
these prices are yet to go if the
American Government keeps on ex
porting foodstuffs under any major
plan.
Since the Marshall plan needs bi
partisan support and since it must
necessarily result in keeping food
price levels fairly high, this will have
to be acknowledged by the adminis
tration forthrightly or the propa
gandists who are trying to blame
the Republicans for high prices will
have to bear the responsibility of
frustrating the progress of the
Marshall plan.
Drop in Exports Seen.
There will inevitably be a big drop
in exports—it has already begun—
and the period between now and the
time Congress acts may see a sharp
decline. Will the Democrats blame
the Republicans for this, too?
A drop in exports may mean that
certain articles sent abroad hereto
fore will be sold on the domestic
market where serious shortages
still exist. It is not believed that in
the next few months any major
change in the business situation will
result. But next summer, if busi
ness conditions are not favorable, it
may be expected that the Democrats
will blame the Republicans for the
drop in export trade and the failure
of Congress to appropriate money in
time. The Marshall plan will be
come interwoven with domestic
considerations in more ways than
one.
For the moment Mr. Truman is
rightly cautious about rushing in
with a request for the spending of
billions till congressional commit
tees themselves have made an ex
haustive study. The President is
proceeding along the right lines to
ward attainment of true bipartisan
support for the program of aid to
Europe.
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" 1
This Changing World
Scramble for Votes in U. N. Election
Likened to Election for County Sheriff
By Constantine Brown
The scramble for votes In the
United Nations General Assembly
Is as active as in an election for
county sheriff.
Although
Russia has the
powerful veto
with which to
block any deci
sions taken in
the council, she
is bent on block
ing the United
States In the
Assembly, too,
•y trying to win
enough votes to
stymie such ma
jor resolutions
as that of Sec
retary of State
Marshall to Can»t*ntin» Brawn,
send an Assembly mission to super
vise conditions In Northern Greece.
The American delegates supported
by a number of Western European
powers are backing Italy's applica
tion to enter the U. N. This was one
of the main nromises made to t.he
government of Alcide de Gasperi
and the Italian National Assembly
to induce them to ratify the other
wise onerous and unjust peace treaty.
Oppoeed by Russia.
The Russian government has de
cided to oppose Italy’s entrance into
the U. N„ unless the United States
and other nations grant the same
privilege to her satellites—Bulgaria,
Albania and Hungary.
The Italian government repre
sents the people and came to power
In a free election in which Com
munists, together with other parties,
were granted the right of voting
without interference or terrorism.
Italy has a democratic government
today, In the real meaning of the
word.
Bulgaria, Albania and Hungary
have governments set up by Mos
cow. Elections were faked and
members of the opposition either
jailed or executed. Only last week
the leader of the Bulgarian Agrarian
Party, Nikola Petkov. was hanged
because he refused to become a
Soviet tool.
In Romania the old leader of the
Romanian democrats, Juliu Maniu,
who risked his life in opposing the
Nazis, has been jailed as an enemy
| of the people. There to little doubt
I that eventually he will share Mr
Petkov’s fate.
The same thing happened in
Hungary, except that Premier
Ferenc Nagy managed to escape and
has come to live in the United
States, while Bela Kovacs, secretary
of the Smallholders' Party, was re
ported to have died in Jail.
These nations which take the U.
N. seriously believe that only free
and independent countries should
become members of that organ
ization. As bait to get Russia into
the U. N., President Roosevelt agreed
that two of the 16 republics which
make up the U. S. S. R. should be
considered independent and accept
ed into the U. N. Subsequent de
velopments placed Poland, Yugo
slavia and—to a lesser extent—
Czechoslovakia behind the Iron cur
tain. They were, however, permit
ted to become full-fledged members
of the U. N. Thus, Russia today
has a bloc of six votes at her dis
posal in the Assembly.
The proposed solution for the
Palestine problem has irked the
Arab state*—Iraq, Saudi Arabia,
Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Yemen.
One good way they can express
their dissatisfaction is to Join the
Russian bloc when the vote on
Greece comes up. There are two
Latin American republics which are
said to be ready to cast their ballots
on the Russian side. Thus Russia
will have 15 sure votes in the
Assembly,
Russia needs 20 votes, however, to
upset the plans of the western na
tions. By getting three nonmember
satellites into the U. N„ Russia could
have some hope of defeating our
proposals, particularly sl/ice some
European nations, such as the Scan
dinavian countries, may decide to
play safe by abstaining.
The Soviet delegates do not hesi
tate to usp intimidation. They are
warning the “neutral” countries
that siding with the United States
might have the direst consequences.
The actions of the Russian repre
sentatives are being supported by
timely attacks against these coun
tries in Soviet newspapers and on
the Soviet radio. Ominous warn
ings . are given against association
with "Fascist-capitalist” America
and her “stooges.”
'On the Other Hand’
Sees Taft Making It Hard for
Party to Repudiate Leadership
By Lowell Mellett
The selection by President Tru
man of a United States Senator—
the excellent young Mr. McGrath
j of Rhode Island—to be Democratic
National Chair
man is likely to
introduce a little
additional drama
into national
alTain during
the coming
12 months.
Tor one thing
it will help ele
vate the candi
dacy of Robert A.
Taft to a place
of pre-eminence
in the Republi
can Party, unless
Senator Taft
should decide in L«w*n Mriiett.
the next few weeks not to be a
candidate. Nobody, of course, ex
pects him to make that decision.
In fact, as his talkative trip through
the West draws to a close, he ap
pears to be trying to make the nom
ination of anybody else impossible.
He is presenting himself as the ac
cepted. responsible spokesman of the
Republican half of our two-headed
government. To repudiate him,
therefore, would be to repudiate the
pax pv 5 cuuuuti in its ui axi^xx m cue
government. It would be the same
as if the Democrats were to repu
diate President Truman's manage
| ment of the executive branch by
! refusing to nominate him. That
seems to be the Taft idea.
"Throw the Rascals Out.”
Having the Democratic National
Chairman right in the same ring
with himself should help promote
the idea. Which, it can be said, is
doubtless satisfactory to the new
chairman and his party. There is
nothing the Democratic leaders are
more desirous of achieving than an
understanding on the part of the
voters that the Republicans are in
full control of Congress. They want
to put the blame for a lot of things,
including high prices, on the Re
publicans. They want to grab for
themselves that good old political
slogan, "Throw the rascals out!”
Every day in every way Senator
Taft is helping to shape up just
such a situation. He apparently had
his own conception of the party’s
platform all written befo>-' he
boarded the westbound tra and.
speech by speech, he has beei. read
ing it to the country. He isn’t
neglecting any issue, not even for
eign affairs. At Tacoma, Wash., he
took a firm stand somewhere be
tween Senator Vandenberg, leading
Republican co-operator with the ad
ministration, and former President
Hoover, who still thinks the British
could have licked the Germans with
out our help.
On labor and on taxes, outstand
ing issues of the first session of the
Republican Congress, he is a vigor
ous, uncompromising defender of
the party’s record. That was to be
expected and offered no real revel
ation. The revelation came when
he followed his essay into foreign
affairs with his program for public
welfare legislation.
Last winter, spring and summer,
as Senator Taft and his helpers on
The Hill suppressed or turned aside
one effort after another to enact
welfare legislation, the charge was
made that he and his party were
saving all such matters for the 1948
campaign. The plan,' it was alleged,
was to put themselves in position
to out-promise the Democrats, even
if thfey failed, in the short time
that would be allowed, to deliver on
their promises.
minon welfare rrogram.
So now Senator Taft produces, In
a speech at Gearhart, Oreg., what
is immediately called a blllion-dollar
welfare program. At first glance it
appears to have been cribbed from
Roosevelt's Economic Bill of Rights
and some of Mr. Truman’s mes
sages to Congress. It deals with
health, education, relief, housing
and social security—even the ex
tension of old-age insurance to farm
workers and domestic servants.
On examination the liberal forcee
in Congress will reject much of it—
the charity approach to the health
problem, for example. But, on its
face, it does suggest that the Re
publicans, having done their duty
by business, are now prepared to
do the same for the common people.
Senator Taft has written the plat
form. His party is in power, so far
as legislation is concerned. He heads
the party. Will it repudiate him
and the platform? The best way
to find out, perhaps, would be to
poll the party’s managers on the
House side, starting with Speaker
Martin. It was Speaker Martin
who put his foot down so heavily
on Taft’s housing bill in the last
session of the 79th Congress that
Senator Taft didn't dare bring it
up in the first session of 80th.
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LOUIE —By Harry Hanan
I" 1 1 rr—
Republicans Relieved
Truman Reluctance for Special Session,
Like Foreign Policy. Seen Bioartisan
By Doris Fleeson
The reluctance for a special session
displayed at the White House con
ference on European relief was, like
our foreign policy, bipartisan.
President Tru
man did not
propose
on Congress to
return forth
with. The Re
publicans were
immensely re
lieved at not
having to oppose
him in the mat
ter. Amid the
general relaxa
tion of tensiori,
the Truman
compromise
— p r e 1 i minary
surveys by House »«ri» riecun.
and Senate Foreign Affairs and
Appropriations Committees — had
smooth sailing.
The President's struggles with
Congress have been Increasingly
reminiscent of Mr. Hoover’s suf
ferings after the Democrats took
over Capitol Hill in 1930. Mr. Tru
man was glad to see the dear backs
of his ex-colleagues last July; he
won’t invite them here unless and
until Gen. Marshall says he must.
Congress is enjoying its first real
holiday. Its leaders are also mak
ing a determined effort to check
: for themselves, here and abroad, the
information upon which Mr. Tru
man bases his program. The more
: intelligent of them. Including Sen
1 ator Taft, realize that the '48 elec
: tion may well hinge upon some issue
I not now in mind, especially some
issue of foreign policy.
: ——————————
They don’t want to risk pushing
ahead on economy and low taxes,
their fondest Interests, only to find
another problem which they subordi
nated to those dominating the cam
paign In '48.
As Senator Taft pointed out at
Takoma, Mr. Truman’s trouble Is
that while he has the constitutional
prerogative of conducting foreign
policy, much of that policy now In
volves the power of the purse which
belongs to Congress. A consider
able struggle Is therefore in prospect
this winter and neither contestant
Is very happy about It.
The President is still resisting
Importunities to take his case to the
country. With the new chairman
of the National Committee, Senator
McGrath, planning to go to Europe
next month for a displaced persons
study, little Democratic political
activity Is In prospect.
Among the dissatisfied Democrats
are leaders in the great industrial
States, all vital to Democratic suc
cess, of whom Mayor O’Dwyer of
New York Is an important example.
Mayor ODwyer Is under constant
pressure to Induce the President to
take stronger leadership In such
matters as Palestine and aid for the
de Gasper! government In Italy.
Mayor O’Dwyer has had little luck
in educating the man from Missouri
in what to him are the political
realities of ’48. It doesn’t improve
his temper. He thinks he deserves
better for his efforts to rehabilitate
the New York City organization.
This group will scowl over the new
Truman temporizing. They may do
more when the Democratic National
Committee meets late In October to
1 ratify the McGrath choice.
McLemore—
Baffled by Tourist
Picture Snappers
By Henry McLemore
IBARRA, Ecuador.—If there were
a bounty offered for the pelts ol
amateur photographers. I would
have skins drying all over South
America. It was
a sad day for
those of us who
don’t take pic
tures when the
first amateur
picture snapper
was turned loose
on the land.
Like the rabbit
in Australia and
the English
sparrow in the
United States,
he has multi
plied a million
fold and consti
tutes a down- ■•■rr HcU»n.
right menace to happiness.
To get even with these camera
nuts, I have worked out a plan. The
next time I come to South America
I am going to bring a Brownie No. 2
along and take nothing but pictures
of amateur photographers taking
pictures of sights. When they
scramble up a wall I am going to
scramble right up back of them and
take a picture of them as they
balance precariously over a thronged
market place to get a color picture
of the crowd below. The picture
mey gei woni De nail as good as
the ones on postcards sold In the
town, but my picture of them will
be something you couldn't buy on
a postcard.
Mr. Bones’ Bones.
Truthfully, I haven’t seen half
the things I should have seen in
South America because of photog
raphers getting in front of me.
They seem to feel that they have a
divine right to climb up on any
thing, in front of any crowd, thus
blocking off the view for every one
else. Many an Ande I have missed
seeing because of some broad
beamed, be-slacketf woman snapping
away at it directly in front of me. I
went to see Pizarro’s bones but they
could have been just plain Mr.
Bones’ bones as far as I can tell you,
because the Kodak kids were there
before me.
The mental workings of tourist
photographers baffles me. What is
their idea in taking all the pictures
they do? Are they so weak minded
that they can’t remember what they
have seen? I haven’t one of the
good minds of the world, or even of
my country, but bless your heart
now that I have seen the Rio harbor
I will be able to recall what it looks
like, and not have to drag an album
down every week or so to refresh
my memory.
My guess is that the reason they
take all the pictures they do is to be
able to show off all the places they
have been when they get home. It
brings tears to my eyes when I think
of all the relatives and friends who
will have to suffer through being
shown all the South American pic
tures I have seen taken. What a
way to spend an evening! Every
one sits around uncomfortably, while
Gordon and Polly, who have Just
returned from a trip, show their
pictures.
Something Like This.
The conversation will go some
thing like this:
"Here is a picture of a herd of
llamas I took in Peru.”
"No, Gordon, you took those in
Chile. I remember, because we were
with the Ernie Parsons at the time.
Wem’t they a nice couple? I wish
all of you could know them. They're
from Los Angeles, and were making
just about the same trip we were.”
"Here is a picture of Polly in
front of San Pedro Church. It’s
■-—--—-V
the oldest in South America."
"No, Gordon, you’re wrong. It
isn’t the oldest church. The what
chamacellit church is the oldest. But
it doesn’t matter. Show the one of
you having a drink with the Indians
in Cusco.”
This goes on and on until some
brave soul in the party takes a look
at his watch, announces he has to
be up early to catch a train, and
must run. This gives every one else
an excuse, and soon the house is left
alone to the amateur photographers
and their slightly distorted snap
shots.
(Distributed br McNiuiht arndieatc. Xne.)
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Higher costs the reason.
$3/700/000 in
general wage increases in
past two years.
W have filed an application with the
Public Utilities Commission of the District of
Columbia for an increase in telephone rates
— our first request in 27 years. This is an
important step and we would like every
customer to know the reasons for it.
Prmsmnt Ratms Not Enough
for 1947 Costs
For a long time the cost of almost every
thing that goes to make good telephone ser
vice has been going up, up, up. True, we have
been doing a big volume of business, so our
revenues have gone up, too.
But our expenses have risen much faster
than our revenues. Since 1939, for example,
our revenues have gone up 142%, but our
cost of doing business has jumped 198%.
Wagms Arm thm Biggmst Horn
ht thm Cost of Tmlmphonm Service
By far the biggest item in the cost of provid
ing telephone service—bigger than all other
costs put together —is wages. Because of
current wage levels and the size of the force
required to furnish you with good telephone
service 24 hours a day, wages now amount to
more than 70% of all telephone operating
expenses.
Our total payroll is now running about
$13,000,000 a year more than in 1939. In the
past two years, general wage increases have
added about $3,700,000 to payroll expense.
Proper Kotos Essential
to Good Sorvico
The people of Washington need and demand
good telephone service. To provide good ser
vice requires good people at good wages. We
must also expand the telephone system to
keep pace with the demands for service.
$70,000,000 Program to Improvo
and Expand To/ophono Service
We are planning to spend $70,000,000 in
this city for new buildings and equipment
in the next few years. Over $14,000,000 has
been invested under this program in the last
twelve months.
This money, which will mean more and
better service for everyone who uses the tele
phone, must come, as it always has, from the
hundreds of thousands of men and women
who are willing to invest their savings in the
telephone business. They will not invest in the
business unless it remains financially strong.
A Modest Request
To meet these increased expenses we art
not asking for a penny more in new rates
than we need now. The increase we are now
requesting will make up only a little more
than 50% of the large increase in wages that
has taken place in the past two years alone.
PROPOSID RATIS IN MNIRAL
LIBS THAN 1920 RATIS
Since 1920, there hove been rote re*
duetions resulting in annual savings
to aur present customers of ftve
times the amount of the modest in*
crease now reguested. The higher
rates proposed will still be lower,
for the most part, than tha rates in
effect 27 years ago.
On* Polity—
Yostorday—Today—Tomorrow
It is a long-established policy of our com
pany to furnish the best possible telephone
service at the lowest possible cost to the public.
Rising costs now force us to ask for an
increase in telephone rates —in order to
maintain the kind of service the people of
Washington have every right to expect
The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company